Visa and Mastercard operate card networks that connect issuers, merchants, acquirers, and cardholders rather than issuing cards

The article explains that Visa and Mastercard do not issue cards, run banks, manufacture cards, provide checkout tools, or onboard merchants. Instead, they operate card networks that coordinate transactions between cardholders, card issuers, merchants, and merchant acquirers.

The distinction matters because card networks sit at the center of payments without directly owning many customer-facing functions. Their power comes from network effects, standards, and transaction routing, which helps explain why they remain critical even as processors like Stripe, Square, and Adyen grow.